


These Two Hands

by Denois



Series: NurseyDex Week 2018 [7]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M, NurseyDex Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15433584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Derek sat at the kitchen table. It wasn’t that late, really. But, for the past six years, any time Will was running late, he’d called. William knew that Derek worried. Derek knew William worried. This was something they’d agreed on before they were Derek and William, back when they were still Dex and Nursey in college. If you were running late, you called or texted. You let people know you were ok.Will was late.NurseyDex Week 2018 Day 7 - Future Fic





	These Two Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Big ol' thanks to [Draskireis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/draskireis) for the beta run down.  
> Big ol' thanks to [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka) for telling me I had to write this when I was throwing around a few ideas. Of course, I also said I should stop giving them angst and just let them be happy and she said they needed a little angst, so, blame her for that.
> 
> Only a little late on this one because I finished it way late on Monday and time keeps progressing linearly. I hope you've enjoyed these.
> 
> As always, thank you to Ngozi for creating the characters and universe

Derek sat at the kitchen table. It wasn’t that late, really. But, for the past six years, any time Will was running late, he’d called. William knew that Derek worried. Derek knew William worried. This was something they’d agreed on before they were Derek and William, back when they were still Dex and Nursey in college. If you were running late, you called or texted. You let people know you were ok. 

Will was late. He’d been working late for weeks, months. But he’d let Derek know each time. He hadn’t called or texted today. He should have been home by now. Derek looked at the containers of take out cooling on the table, lit by the sun through the front windows mellowing as it set.

He texted Will. He heard a buzz from the den. Sighing, he pushed himself up and went into the adjacent space. Will’s phone was sitting on the end table. Still plugged in. He hadn’t gotten home terribly late the night before. He rarely did, never so late that Derek would really worry. They’d had enough time to watch some tv before bed. 

Derek sat on the couch, staring at the phone. He’d distracted Will last night, making out with him and dragging him into the bedroom. Will had gone along with it, which was actually a change for recent weeks. But then he’d pulled a sore muscle in his shoulder and they’d just cuddled. 

That was another thing. Will had been sore lately, which couldn’t be explained by his job as a computer engineer. Derek hadn’t seen Will sore like that since college. Something was definitely up. Derek wasn’t sure he wanted to know at this point.

But not knowing meant worrying.

The phone buzzed on the table again, startling Derek out of his thoughts. It continued buzzing with a phone call rather than a notification. 

Derek looked at the caller ID but didn’t recognize it. 

Derek answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello? Mr. Poindexter? This Linda from the Celtic Rose? We were just calling to confirm your flower delivery for tomorrow morning at eleven.”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Could you verify the address for the delivery?”

Derek wrote down the address she provided and then ended the call. He knew that he shouldn’t have answered Will’s phone. It was a massive invasion of privacy. But why the hell was Will having flowers delivered to an address that Derek had never heard of before? 

He looked it up on his on phone and it was a residential area. He wasn’t sending flowers to a coworker in the hospital or a memorial or anything. He was sending flowers to someone’s house. 

Before Derek had time to think it through, he pulled up directions in his map app and got into the car. 

He tried to block everything from his mind as he drove, but questions kept repeating on a loop. Who were the flowers for? Why would Will do this? Was Will tired of him getting lost in his writing? Had he been too clingy? Too aggravating? Will wouldn’t cheat on him, though, would he? Maybe Will had a sick cousin in the area or something. Maybe Derek was grasping at straws. 

He pulled over in front of a house a few doors down. It was a nice area. It was even one they’d briefly discussed living in when they’d first moved, before they realized the property values of the area. It was too nice of an area for someone to go unnoticed sitting in a car for long.

When he saw Will step out of the front door of the house and then embrace a man that followed him out, he forgot how to think. The man got into a truck and drove off. Derek exited the car and stumbled over to the front walk a few feet away from the porch.

“Will?” His voice broke on the single syllable.

“Derek?” Will’s head whipped around from where he was locking the door. He had a key. “What are you doing here? How did you-“ He broke off, his eyes roaming over Derek’s face. 

“The florist called. To confirm your flower delivery. I had to see for myself.” Derek couldn’t remember why he thought knowing would be better than wondering.

Will sighed and turned back to the door. “I guess you should come in and see then.”

He disappeared into the house and Derek stared after. After a few seconds he followed against his will. 

The house wasn’t what he was expecting. There was no furniture, for one thing. It was really nice, but that he had expected, in a way. Will had good taste, he’d known that since their junior year when he’d put up floating shelves in their room and helped Ollie and Wicks redecorate the attic. 

Nursey couldn’t imagine how much Will must have paid for this place. Where’d he get that kind of money? Computer engineering pays well, but this well? He wasn’t actually certain. They still kept finances separate. Will said he didn’t want to mooch off of Derek. But maybe it was to hide from him all along. Of course, this could still be the other guy’s place.

Will had been talking about the wood floors, and the fireplace. He was showing him the dining area and a breakfast nook and a giant kitchen with granite counter tops. It was nice, but Derek couldn’t focus on the words he was saying. Will stopped and searched his face again. 

“There’s also an office, and a library. Let me show you the library.” Will’s voice sounded off, but Derek was still too distracted to place it. 

A library. He’d always talked about wanting a library. Will led him to see it. The walls were covered with built-in bookcases, the carpet was deep pile and plush. He wondered if Will had made the bookcases. He’d always promised Derek that he would make him bookcases so that he could have a library. 

Will had their dream home, with a stranger. 

Will led him upstairs. Derek followed in a haze. He knew he didn’t want to see this, but like the scene of an accident or a compilation of those stupid home videos of guys getting hit in the balls, he couldn’t look away. 

“This is the master suite. Nice and big. The tub is huge, of course. And the best feature-“ he paused and flashed a tentative smile before opening a door in the master bedroom. It opened into another bedroom almost as big. “A Chowder room.”

Derek stared around the rooms in confusion. What was the point of a private love hideaway without at least a bed? What was going on? 

“There’s no furniture at all? Not even a bed?” He looked at Will, desperate to make something make sense.

Will hesitated and fidgeted with his hands. “Well, yeah. I figured we’d do that together. I think I got everything you’ve said you wanted in a house, but I didn’t want to mess up on the furniture and stuff. I want you to be comfortable, and happy.” 

A strangled sound escaped Derek before he could stop it. “This is, this is all for me?” He stretched out his arms to indicate the house. He focused on Will and took a half step forward. “You’re not leaving me?

Emotions played over Will’s face, confusion, realization, and finally affection. “You still think I’m stupid. Why do you still think I’m stupid?” He shook his head. “I know what I have in you. I know how amazing you are and how good we are together.”

Will raised a hand to stop the words when Derek started to reply. “I’m not going to say that I’ve never noticed anyone else, but I have never, even for a moment, been tempted.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I was going to do this all tomorrow when the house was full of those alstroemerias that you like.”

“They have freckles.” Derek smiled slightly.

Will’s mouth stretched into a wider smile and he shook his head. Derek watched in confusion as he lowered himself to the floor and took Derek’s hand. 

“Derek Nurse, will you marry me?” He squeezed Derek’s hand.

Derek was still processing “This was all for me. The flowers were for me. The man earlier?” 

“The general contractor that was helping me, and also my cousin’s husband.” 

“And you asked me to marry you. You want me to marry you and… and live in this house?” 

“That’s what I was hoping.” Will’s face seemed to be shuttering the longer Derek took to respond. 

“Of course I want to marry you. You asshole.” Derek pulled on Will’s hand, dragging him up until he could hug him. 

“Oh, thank god. I just remodeled a house for you.”

Derek pressed his lips to Will’s in a soft kiss. “I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me for weeks.”

Will pulled back. “Hey, to be fair, I wasn’t lying. I was working late, just not at my job.”

Derek finally allowed himself to grin. “I also can’t believe you forgot your phone and ruined your own surprise proposal.”

Will groaned. “I know. I wanted the proposal to happen in the library. I know how much you’ve wanted one.”

Derek kissed him again. “I still want those flowers.”

“Of course. Oh!” Will pulled away and Derek reached after him. “Give me a second. I’m right here.” Will reached into a pocket and pulled out a ring. He grabbed Derek’s hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. “Just want to make it all official.”

Derek pulled him back into his arms, and then looked at the ring over his shoulder. “You have such good taste.”

“I know. I picked you, didn’t I?”

**Author's Note:**

> Say hi or ask for drabbles or tell me I'm doing it all wrong over on tumblr at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Title from "I Swear" by both All-4-One and John Michael Montgomery. The line in question being "I'll build your dreams with these two hands. We'll hang some memories on the wall."
> 
> Dex wanted to build the whole house for Nursey, but that would have taken way too long.


End file.
